Saturday, September 8, 2007

Ole Miss Live Blog - First Half

I'm glued to the radio like a Brooklyn Dodgers fan circa early 1900s, so I'm going to do my best to do some live blogging without any visual element here whatsoever... Feel free to drop in, refresh constantly, and interact via comments at the bottom. All times below are Central Daylight Time.

-- 5:26: And now Missouri is punting. Isn't the lack of television awesome?

-- 5:29: Mike Kelly tells me to trust a local internet provider for high-speed service. Can the service ensure that KMOX doesn't skip over two minutes of football?

-- 5:34: The new weapon emerges: Martin "Mr. T-Ruck" Rucker breaks a tackle on a first down run. Kelly says an Ole Miss defender is hurt. Rucker pities the fool.

Photo credit Columbia Tribune

-- 5:39: Jeremy "X-factor" Maclin gets the ball on a reverse, then on a short pass from Daniel. The more Maclin, the better. Mizzou is inside the 10. Can they punch/finesse it in?

-- 5:44: First quarter ends. Missouri still knocking on doorstep. Couple of thoughts:
- Love Rucker running the ball
- Maclin may be the closest thing to Percy Harvin in the Big 12
- Mizzou already has 10 first downs, Daniel has already thrown 16 passes. What are the odds Mizzou finishes with 40 first downs and 64 pass attemps?
- Scoreless first HAS to favor Ole Miss.

-- 5:52: Seth Adams third down scramble falls short of first down. Ole Miss offense is still on field, but radio cuts away. Does Ole Miss test its luck on fourth down?

-- 5:54: Ole Miss burned a timeout to review the spot. The spot was upheld and Mizzou receives the ball a the 27 after an Ole Miss punt.

-- 5:57: Two friends of mine check in from Oxford. I'm told the student section at Ole Miss is rather impressive. I trust this perspective because one of the aforementioned friends is a diehard Notre Dame fan.

-- 6:05: Kelly makes a good point. The Mizzou lead should help force the game into Seth Adams hands and away from Green-Ellis' legs.

-- UPSET WATCH: Fresno scores on 4th-and-goal with :05 seconds left. Fresno and Texas A&M tied at 29. Would a loss to Fresno mean there's no way the Aggies are ranked when they come to Columbia? Are you Tiger fans pulling for the Big 12 in this situation?

-- 6:09: Van Alexander and Brock Christopher pursue Green-Ellis, force and recover a fumble. Kelly says Terrell came up with recovery. Big stop for Mizzou, especially if the Tigers turn it into points.

-- 6:15: T-Rucker: 40-yard reception for a TD! Missouri is embarassing the Rebel secondary. Rucker pities those fools (don't expect this to stop). Missouri went 91 yards in six plays in only 1:54.

-- UPDATE: Texas A&M up 3 in OT, but Fresno State is first-and-goal on its possession.

-- 6:19: I look back and Ole Miss is right outside of the Missouri red zone. Already?

-- 6:20: Green-Ellis runs down to the MU 9. He's carried 15 times for 110 yards.

-- 6:21: Pig Brown with consecutive tackles on 2nd and 3rd down. While Ole Miss ponders 4th down play, Kelly says announced attendance is over 50,000.

-- UPDATE: I know I'm going to get ripped apart for straying form MU coverage, but this Fresno-Texas A&M game is absolutely nuts. The officials just overturned a play they just upheld. A recovered fumble on the play should have ended the game, but a roughing the passer penalty kept the Bulldogs alive. Consider me captivated...

-- 6:25: Ole Miss going for it on 4th down. Ole Miss converts on a reverse after a missed tackle by Stryker Sulak.

-- 6:26: Shay Hodge receives the pass from Seth Adams on a slant for an Ole Miss touchdown with 1:09 remaining in the half. 71 yards in 8 plays taking 3:07 off the clock. Remember, Mizzou gets the ball back to begin the second half.

-- 6:28: Maclin's 30-yard return puts Mizzou on their own 45. The Tigers may be able to add some points before the end of the half. As I type, MU converts for first down.

-- 6:29: Coffman down to Ole Miss 21.

-- 6:30: Tigers go five-wide and Franklin gets out of bounds after an 11-yard gain for a first down.

-- 6:32: Empty backfield, fade pattern: touchdown Mizzou! Coffman scores with :04 seconds left in the half, despite defensive pass interference. 54 yards in 8 plays for a 28-7 lead. Again, MU gets the ball back in the second half.

UPDATE: Fresno scores a touchdown in second OT to lead Texas A&M. The Aggies must score to force another OT. If Texas A&M loses, do you think Mizzou vaults into the Top 25 if they win impressively in Oxford?

-- 6:35: Halftime after a 28-point 2nd quarter by Missouri, tying a record for a Gary Pinkel Missouri team. The breakdown of the defense towards the end of the half may be a concern, but otherwise, things looking (er, sounding) excellent. Not to mention, the half only took about an hour and a half. Seems like it would be early second quarter if this was the Illinois game.

ETS Note: I'll be blogging from a new post for the second half. This one got long quickly.

Every True Son

Filling the big black hole in the blogosphere known as "Columbia, MO."
Every True Son will bring you hot sports opinions for all things Mizzou sports. That is, until God himself decides to rip out the hearts of Tigers everywhere by shutting it down. History will look upon this date as tragically as a fifth down game or kicked ball.